I'm a serial entrepreneur whose companies have won both Inc 500 and Best Place to Work awards. I'm also a NY Times bestselling author and speaker. My newest book is Employee Engagement 2.0. To download free chapters visit my website at www.kevinkruse.com.

1 Thing Every New Hire Should Get On Their First Day

The first day at a new job. Excited but nervous. Shoot, why didn’t I wear a tie? They said business casual but my boss is wearing a tie. Oh geez, that woman again, I just met her and I forgot her name already.

Should I go to the cafeteria to eat lunch by myself—should I wait for someone to ask me? It’s 5:00 and I have nothing to do…should I leave? Everyone else is still here. Let me check the news on Internet again…

It is being reported on several techie websites that when employees arrive for their first day at Apple, they are given the inspirational note shown below.

I love the concept of giving every new hire a letter on their first day for the following reasons:

1) First days are tough. You haven’t made “work friends” yet so you feel alone, you don’t know the company culture or jargon yet so you feel confused, and you are quite literally lost (“Where’s the coffee and bathroom?”). A warm letter can make you feel welcome.

2) First impressions count. A good orientation program helps, but a warm note shows that the company cares enough about you to think ahead to your arrival.

3) Cultural immersion should start early. First days—first weeks—often are periods of lighter workloads. It’s the perfect time for new hires to “work” on understanding the company culture and values.

Having said that, there are two things wrong with Apple’s approach (note: so far, Apple has neither confirmed nor denied whether this letter is authentic) .

First, it’s paternalistic. Slipping in, “The kind of work…you’d sacrifice a weekend for” sounds like they are setting the weekend hours expectation up front. If you’ve hired the right person, she’ll know that sometimes extra hours are required to get the job done. She’ll already have a work-life blend mindset. She won’t need to be reminded of that, and bringing it up on day one sets a bad, paternalistic tone.

Second, it’s impersonal. The signature line has a pre-printed logo and “Welcome to Apple” statement. Not very warm. It would mean much more if the letter was actually signed by the CEO, or by the person’s manager, or even better, by every person in the department (talk about peer pressure!).

Welcoming each newbie on their first day with a note is a great idea, but make sure it’s the right note. To make it effective, make it personal and focused on organizational values.

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My first day went like this… - Got to work and no one had any idea who I was, they forgot to send out an email that a new hire was starting.

- No where for me to sit (awkward)

- The seniors I interviewed with were either on vacation the week I started or in a meeting. I sat at my desk… the one that was in the corner collecting piles of old projects, and waited patiently while someone told me what I was supposed to do.

- I watched tutorials on a new program that I was learning for an hour before they got out of there meeting. One of the seniors I interviewed with didn’t even realize I was starting that day!

-He apologized for the lack of organization on the firms part on making a new hire feel welcome. A week later I heard the principle talking behind me, and I could see her reflection in my laptop making gestures as if, “who is this person?”

-I’m still interning, but I still don’t feel 100% part of the team… kind of feel like a 5th wheel.

*To the employer. You should value “opinion.” I believe a firm grows from others criticism and opinions. Make your new hires part of the team and comfortable so they feel that they were actually hired to make a difference.

:S (I tried to keep this short with bullets, but it didn’t work…sorry)

Thanks, Chad. I’ve known executives who actually go out of there way to seek opinions of the interns and new hires. It’s one of the only ways to get a fresh perspective before everyone becomes indoctrinated. Best, KK

I showed up to work and my boss was out that day. My boss’s boss was busy so I found his desk and started wondering around looking for my cube. After about 20 minutes, I found a cube with my name on it and sat down. There were papers all over the place with all sorts of equations I’ve never seen before. All I could think was that it would have been nice for them to clear out the last guy’s crap before I got there. I took out my personal laptop and started browsing the web. About 10 minutes later, the person who sat in the cube next to me came by and asked me who I was. I stated my name, and she insisted I wasn’t who I said I was. We went back and forth with the “yes I am”…”no you’re not” thing about 5 times. I almost pulled out my driver’s license to prove it to her, but she walked away and it looked like she was going to get security.

Anyways, shortly after that my boss’s boss called me on my cell and asked me to go meet him somewhere. He showed me to my desk, and it ended up being a few isle down from where I sat down earlier… Apparently, there was another guy with my exact name about 30 feet away from my cube, and my last name really isn’t common. I’m just glad the other guy didn’t come back when I was in his cube… That would have been awkward.

Worst first day — I had no desk, no computer, no phone. This went on for six weeks or so. Also, I was told by my manager that there was “nothing to do.” When I pressed, I was told to look at another department’s section of the web site and see if I had any ideas for improving it, although there was no way any suggestions I might have had would be implemented. At some point, I was told to use an open computer in the lunch room until it was discovered that another department reserved that computer for their intern. Bad feelings between my department and theirs, and I felt so awkward.

Best first day — my current job. A welcome sign on the front door, business cards already made for me, job manual on my desk, lots of work to do and all the information I need to do it. Heavenly.

Being recruited, interviewed, checked and hired, I was ready to go. I set my first official day on a Tuesday yet made arrangements to come in on the previous Thursday. The feedback that I heard in the interview process was that the person I would be replacing had been a barrier builder – people avoided her negative energy – she wasn’t a team builder. My thinking in going in before my official start was to introduce myself to everyone one-on-one and assess/organize my office. I met everyone in all the divisions, collected business cards, found out about what they liked about their work, how long they had been with the company, who they support/report to, and spent some time listening to the operational support staff. They volunteered information about where things were stored, how things worked best and so I listened. I got my new chair ordered, my new keyboard ordered and saw what the commute in real-time was like. The casual lunch I shared with my boss was an opportunity I would not have when I got started. My first day, my first week, my first month were a far more seamless transition. I don’t think anyone should consider their first day as the start of an position. It starts with making people the priority and some basic housekeeping BEFORE you start. You will never have a better chance to make a fist impression.

Being recruited, interviewed, checked and hired, I was ready to go. I set my first official day on a Tuesday yet made arrangements to come in on the previous Thursday. The feedback that I heard in the interview process was that the person I who would be replacing had been a barrier builder – people avoided her negative energy – she wasn’t a team builder. My thinking in going in before my official start was to introduce myself to everyone one-on-one and assess/organize my office. I met everyone in all the divisions, collected business cards, found out about what they liked about their work, how long they had been with the company, who they support/report to, and spent some time listening to the operational support staff. They volunteered information about where things were stored, how things worked best and so I listened. I got my new chair ordered, my new keyboard ordered and saw what the commute in real-time was like. The casual lunch I shared with my boss was an opportunity I would not have when I got started. My first day, my first week, my first month were a far more seamless transition. I don’t think anyone should consider their first day as the start of an position. It starts with making people the priority and some basic housekeeping BEFORE you start. You will never have a better chance to make a fist impression.